Bitcoin and Ethereum see over 30% drops; $3.79B exits Bitcoin ETFs as trading volumes shrink globally
Since mid-last month, major virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have continued to plummet, and the exodus of ‘coin ants’ (individual investors in virtual assets) has notably accelerated.
◇Virtual Assets Sending a ‘Gloomy November’
According to CoinMarketCap on the 26th, Bitcoin is currently trading around 87,000 dollars.
Bitcoin fell to around 82,000 dollars on the 21st, which is more than a 33% drop compared to its high of 124,000 dollars on the 12th of last month. Ethereum, the second-largest by market capitalization, is no different. Ethereum, which approached 5,000 dollars per unit last August, is recently trading around 2,900 dollars. Since the beginning of the year, Ethereum’s price has fallen by 11.5%. Ripple, third by virtual asset market capitalization, has also fallen by more than 30% compared to this year’s high. Major altcoins such as Solana (-26.9%) and Dogecoin (-51.5%) have also seen significant price drops since the beginning of the year.
While this year has seen a synchronized rally in asset prices, including the stock market, virtual assets, and gold, known as the ‘everything rally,’ the virtual asset market has been in a downturn since last month, giving back all of this year’s gains. In particular, compared to early this month, Bitcoin has fallen by 21% and Ethereum by 25%, leading to a continued ‘gloomy November’ across the virtual asset market.
The stock prices of companies that use virtual asset reserves as a financial tool are also struggling. The stock price of Stratégie (MSTR), a representative company whose core profit model is Bitcoin investment, has fallen by 40.2% over the past month. In particular, Stratégie failed to be included in the S&P 500 index despite market expectations, increasing the possibility of further declines and disappointing the overall virtual asset market. Mara Holdings, which, like Stratégie, uses Bitcoin accumulation as a strategy, also saw its stock price plunge by 42.9% during the same period. Bitmain, which accumulates Ethereum (-46.2%), and Sharplink Gaming (-30.6%) also experienced significant declines.
◇Departing ‘Coin Ants’
As the decline in virtual asset prices has continued for over a month, the outflow of funds from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has also accelerated. Over the past month, Bitcoin ETFs saw an outflow of 3.79 billion dollars (approximately 5.3 trillion Korean won). According to U.S. blockchain data firm SosoValue, the world’s largest Bitcoin spot ETF, BlackRock’s IBIT, has net assets of 7.276 billion dollars (approximately 10.2 trillion Korean won), but has seen outflows of over 2 billion dollars (approximately 2.8 trillion Korean won) in the past month alone.
The decline in trading volume was also evident. According to an analysis by this newspaper of CoinGecko data, the daily average trading volume of Binance, the world’s largest virtual asset exchange, decreased by approximately 16% over the past month (October 25 to November 25). Even among South Korea’s top five virtual asset exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax), the daily average trading volume decreased by approximately 16.6% compared to last September and by 11.7% compared to last month.
◇Can a Bottom Be Reached and a Rebound Occur?
Trader Peter Brandt, who gained fame for predicting the 2018 cryptocurrency crash, recently posted on his X account, “Bitcoin could drop to 58,000 dollars. I believe Bitcoin reaching 200,000 dollars may not happen until the third quarter of 2029,” suggesting that the decline in virtual assets could continue for the time being.
However, there are expectations in some circles that this downturn could signal a bottom for the virtual asset market. The increased likelihood of a December interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with expectations of new fund inflows due to the expansion of altcoin ETF listings, could ignite a rebound.
